Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 93, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1917 — MEXICANS KILL THREE U. S. MEN [ARTICLE]

MEXICANS KILL THREE U. S. MEN

Unarmed American Cowboys Shot to Death on Ranch. ' . ’ ■ ' ■ .G> FEDERAL AGENT ON SCENE Report to Washington Declares Yankees Were Captured by Bandits on This Side of Border —Bodies Riddled With Bullets. Hachita, N. AL, Feb. LG.—Acting under instructions from Col. F. C. Sickle, commanding the ( olumbus camp, Lieut. Col. J. C. Waterman, in charge at Hachita, ordered all available troops from here into the Corner ranch section. The troops left for their new posts at once.

Hachita, N. M„ Feb. 16—Three bodies, later identified as those of Andrew P. Peterson, Hugh Acord and Burton Jensen, American cowboys, were found on the Mexican side of the border three miles south of Monument No. 53 and near Corner Rauch. They were discovered by Lem Spillsbury, the Pershing scout. The bodies of the three Americans were about 50 feet apal’t. according to Spillsbury. Each victim had been shot many times in the head with rilles and pistols, Acord’s head was mutilated with a hatchet, according to Spillsbury. All of the bodies were stripped oL clothing] hats and shoes, Spillsbury said. The clue to the bodies was givpn by Andrew Peterson's shepherd . dog, which crawled into camp famished and foot-sore, as if he had come a great distance during the night. American cowboys,,'of the rescue posse, who were camped at the line here took this to mean Peterson and his companions were dead, and started on their successful hunt for the bodies. Raid Investigated. A government agent arrived here and made an investigation • of the raid, a report of which was sent to Washington. According to this report, the Mexicans under ITudencio Miranda were eating dinner at a ranchhouse on the American side when Peterson, Jensen and Acord rode up unarmed. The Americans were surrounded and made prisoners. His report also confirmed previous reports of the Corn# Ranch raid. *

From later reports received here by military officers and others the reported second raid, on Lang’s ranch, and the killing of two American ranchmen was unconfirmed, and it is now believed to be baseless. Border Towns Fear Raid. Border towns are fearing a repetition of the Columbus raid March 9 last. Ed “Bunk” Spencer, tty* American negro ranch forenmrtV' for the E. K. Warren & Sons interests, who\reaChed the border late Tuesday with a demand for $5,000 in gold, also brought with him a verbal statement which he claimed Jose Ynez Salazar made to him at Ojitos, Chihuahua, the purport of which was that he, Salazar, intended to raid an American city or town on the border, which would Jurpass Villa’s raid at Columbus, N. M-. and in which all “men of gringoland will have to take care,” but that women and children woul d be protect e< I. While Spencer male the trip to the border from Ojitos to deliver Salazar’sdemand for the ransom, his Mexican wife was held as a hostage at the Ojitos ranch. The Warren ranch interests are understood to have agreed to pay $5,000 ransom for “Bunk” Spencer and his wife.